Published: Sunday, February 1, 2009 at 6:01 a.m.

Last Modified: Sunday, February 1, 2009 at 1:57 a.m.

HOUMA — The corner office on the first-floor of Houma Police headquarters has a different cop behind the desk.

And Chief Patrick Boudreaux’s name no longer appears on the glass above the entrance of the brick building at Honduras and Goode streets.

Since he left the department in May, first on a monthlong medical leave, then on an administrative leave that has lasted seven months, Boudreaux, chief for nearly eight years, inhabits a legal no-man’s land. He still draws his $74,000 salary but is barred from returning to work amid a storm of accusations that have turned the department he oversaw into a workplace of such rancor that Terrebonne’s district attorney and parish president have requested the State Police conduct a comprehensive investigation.

“Somebody needs to take the bull by the horns,” District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. said.

That somebody should have been Parish President Michel Claudet, and he should have taken action months ago, a former police chief and a former parish president say.

EIGHT MONTHS ON LEAVE

Originally, the basis of Boudreaux’s administrative leave, ordered by Claudet in July, were nine letters sent to the Houma Fire and Police Municipal Civil Service Board two months earlier. Written by veteran officers, eight letters accuse Boudreaux of a variety of offenses, including failure to report a dent to his car, misappropriation of department equipment and failure to properly investigate a relationship between a female officer and a 16-year-old girl. One officer alleged Boudreaux flashed her with a laser pointer.

Another letter, written by a former probation-and-parole agent, alleges Boudreaux made inappropriate sexual comments to her nearly six years ago. Boudreaux said he apologized for the sexual comments at the time, reported them to the parish president and was counseled. Boudreaux replied to the other accusations, denying them or asserting that they violated no law or department policy.

Nevertheless, eight months later, those allegations have yet to been investigated.

A local judge ruled last week that the Civil Service investigation initiated by the letters, in which the board would serve as the fact-finder, trier of fact and also the appellate body, would violate Boudreaux’s right to due process. The board also does not have any rules or procedures that specify how such an investigation is to take place.

The State Examiner’s Office, which oversees Louisiana’s municipal civil-service system, has steadfastly maintained that while Houma’s Civil Service Board can perform an investigation, the law clearly makes an investigation the responsibility of the “appointing authority,” in this case the parish president.

In the meantime, the department, now headed by Interim Chief Todd Duplantis, a former police lieutenant, has been riven by a series of lawsuits, allegations of criminal conduct, internal grievances and general feuding. Waitz and parish and police officials, both current and former, characterize much of it as stemming from two factions, one loyal to Boudreaux and the other tied to Duplantis’ administration.

AND AT LEAST 12 MORE

Following the judge’s decision last week to halt the Civil Service investigation, Claudet said Boudreaux would remain on administrative leave pending the result of sexual-harassment lawsuits filed in September by four female department employees, including two who also wrote letters to the Civil Service Board. The suits allege an array of sexually-offensive comments and, in some cases, unwanted physical contact by Boudreaux over his entire tenure as chief.

Boudreaux called the claims “categorically untrue.”

Charlie Dirks, his lawyer, cites the fact that none of the sexual-harassment allegations appear in the Civil Service letters as “highly suspicious.”

The first of the four separate trials is not set until December, according to Alexander “Kip” Crighton, the parish attorney representing Boudreaux. The last of the four is scheduled for February. That means, barring some resolution, that Boudreaux will continue to draw his check but will be prevented from returning to work for at least another year.

Given the nature of the allegations in the suit, Claudet said there’s no other option.

“I don’t think that I have much of an alternative,” he said.

But the sexual-harassment suits are just one example of the department’s discord spilling into the public eye.

In late October, Jill Walker, who has worked as a clerk at the department for seven years, sued the parish and Duplantis, alleging she was illegally drug-tested by the interim chief.

And Monday, the Civil Service Board will consider complaints by Lt. Darryl Cunningham, who is contesting disciplinary action taken against him by Duplantis after Cunningham says he accidentally opened a letter that was put in his mailbox by mistake. The letter was addressed to Donna Wedgeworth, who is the Civil Service Board secretary, secretary to the chief of police and one of the women who is suing Boudreaux for sexual harassment.

Cunningham also contends that an election held to fill the Police Department’s seat on the board was not properly noticed, which would have been Wedgeworth’s responsibility. Duplantis counters that the election was properly noticed and conducted.

Carolyn McNabb, Cunningham’s attorney, said the investigations that resulted in Cunningham’s written reprimands, which could be used as grounds for demotion or dismissal, did not follow police procedure.

McNabb said Duplantis took Cunningham’s badge and gun and put him on paid leave.

“The whole thing from beginning to end is way outside of accepted procedure,” she said. Her opinion, she said, is that “Darryl was being punished for being loyal to Pat and being Pat’s friend.”

‘THINGS WERE ORGANIZED’

Citing the level of acrimony between certain officers and employees, as well as the complaints and lawsuits that have been filed before and since Boudreaux left office, District Attorney Joe Waitz said Friday the department is “out of control.”

After consulting with Claudet, Waitz sent a written request Friday to the State Police to investigate “any and all allegations” against the police chief and officers. A State Police spokesman said the request had been received and would be forwarded to Baton Rouge for review.

Waitz said he had sat by for months as evidence mounted that the situation at the Police Department was worsening. In August, he requested an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office, which declined, citing litigation filed by Boudreaux against the Civil Service Board, he said.

Though the State Police have yet to issue a response to the request, Waitz said he fears the department’s ability to function must be compromised by the internal strife.

Speaking on condition of anonymity because they fear reprisals, several officers told The Courier morale among the rank-and-file is abysmally low.

When Boudreaux was there, one officer said, “It may not have been a perfect department, but things were organized.”

FAILURE TO ACT?

Whether Pat’s innocent or guilty, the parish president hasn’t done his job,” said 65-year-old Jack Smith, chief of the Houma Police from 1988 to 1998. “It’s his problem. He’s the parish president. The chief of police works for him.”

Most of the letters sent to the board, which were released to The Courier by Boudreaux following a public-records request, were also addressed to Claudet.

Boudreaux and his lawyer, Baton Rouge attorney Charlie Dirks, contend that Claudet told them he investigated the complaints and found them unfounded. After a month on leave, Claudet told Boudreaux in early July he could go back to work.

“He told me I was exonerated, enjoy the weekend, come back to work Monday,” Boudreaux said.

Waitz also said he heard Claudet make similar remarks.

“There were some comments made to that effect,” Waitz said.

The parish president, however, insists the letters were not sent to him. He also said he never performed an investigation of Boudreaux.

“Never did I say that I had investigated those complaints and he was completely exonerated,” Claudet said Friday.

Rather, he told Waitz, “I had reviewed the complaints and found them to be fairly benign,” Claudet said, adding that he opted to let the Civil Service Board handle the matter.

After the judge’s decision last week, Claudet said he had been meeting with attorneys for the parish and Civil Service Board and intended to request that the parish administration assume the responsibility for the investigation when he and Waitz agreed to contact the State Police.

Smith and former Parish President Don Schwab say Claudet should have handled the complaints from the outset.

“It’s the responsibility of the parish president,” Schwab said. “That’s ridiculous for somebody not to have a police chief since May of 2008.”

‘BATTLE FOR POWER’

Both Smith and Schwab said the unresolved situation has damaged the department.

“It look likes it’s a battle for power, and that’s not good for the whole organization,” Schwab said.

Internal friction and jockeying for position are part of any office, and police departments, with a comparative handful of ranking positions and officers vying for promotions, are no exception.

That’s especially true for the chief-of-police job after a transition of power in the parish administration, Smith said.

“It’s a normal occurrence, after a new parish president takes over, that people are politicking for the job,” Smith said, noting that Claudet took office about five months before the letters about Boudreaux were sent to the Civil Service Board.

“Right now there is a lot of confusion in that department as to who the chief of police is,” Smith said.

While Duplantis’ name may be on the glass outside, and he has moved into Boudreaux’s office, he can’t be the chief until Boudreaux is fired or quits. “By law, Pat Boudreaux is the chief of police,” Smith said.

As soon as Claudet became aware of the complaints against the chief, “there should have been an investigation right then and there,” Smith said, adding that the parish president could have halted the devolving situation “a long time ago.”

“This is like a disease. It’s been festering in the police department for a long time,” Smith said.

Whatever scope the State Police investigation takes, if it takes place, Smith was not optimistic it will uncover the truth behind the eight-month-long debacle.

“The State Police are not going to want to be drug into a highly controversial deal,” Smith said, adding that the investigating troopers will not know the personalities involved or where the “skeletons are buried.”

“I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he added.

Senior Staff Writer Robert Zullo can be reached at 850-1150 or robert.zullo@houmatoday.com.

<p>HOUMA  The corner office on the first-floor of Houma Police headquarters has a different cop behind the desk.</p><p>And Chief Patrick Boudreaux’s name no longer appears on the glass above the entrance of the brick building at Honduras and Goode streets.</p><p>Since he left the department in May, first on a monthlong medical leave, then on an administrative leave that has lasted seven months, Boudreaux, chief for nearly eight years, inhabits a legal no-man’s land. He still draws his $74,000 salary but is barred from returning to work amid a storm of accusations that have turned the department he oversaw into a workplace of such rancor that Terrebonne’s district attorney and parish president have requested the State Police conduct a comprehensive investigation.</p><p>Somebody needs to take the bull by the horns, District Attorney Joe Waitz Jr. said.</p><p>That somebody should have been Parish President Michel Claudet, and he should have taken action months ago, a former police chief and a former parish president say.</p><h3>EIGHT MONTHS ON LEAVE</h3>
<p>Originally, the basis of Boudreaux’s administrative leave, ordered by Claudet in July, were nine letters sent to the Houma Fire and Police Municipal Civil Service Board two months earlier. Written by veteran officers, eight letters accuse Boudreaux of a variety of offenses, including failure to report a dent to his car, misappropriation of department equipment and failure to properly investigate a relationship between a female officer and a 16-year-old girl. One officer alleged Boudreaux flashed her with a laser pointer.</p><p>Another letter, written by a former probation-and-parole agent, alleges Boudreaux made inappropriate sexual comments to her nearly six years ago. Boudreaux said he apologized for the sexual comments at the time, reported them to the parish president and was counseled. Boudreaux replied to the other accusations, denying them or asserting that they violated no law or department policy.</p><p>Nevertheless, eight months later, those allegations have yet to been investigated. </p><p>A local judge ruled last week that the Civil Service investigation initiated by the letters, in which the board would serve as the fact-finder, trier of fact and also the appellate body, would violate Boudreaux’s right to due process. The board also does not have any rules or procedures that specify how such an investigation is to take place.</p><p>The State Examiner’s Office, which oversees Louisiana’s municipal civil-service system, has steadfastly maintained that while Houma’s Civil Service Board can perform an investigation, the law clearly makes an investigation the responsibility of the appointing authority, in this case the parish president.</p><p>In the meantime, the department, now headed by Interim Chief Todd Duplantis, a former police lieutenant, has been riven by a series of lawsuits, allegations of criminal conduct, internal grievances and general feuding. Waitz and parish and police officials, both current and former, characterize much of it as stemming from two factions, one loyal to Boudreaux and the other tied to Duplantis’ administration.</p><h3>AND AT LEAST 12 MORE</h3>
<p>Following the judge’s decision last week to halt the Civil Service investigation, Claudet said Boudreaux would remain on administrative leave pending the result of sexual-harassment lawsuits filed in September by four female department employees, including two who also wrote letters to the Civil Service Board. The suits allege an array of sexually-offensive comments and, in some cases, unwanted physical contact by Boudreaux over his entire tenure as chief.</p><p>Boudreaux called the claims categorically untrue.</p><p>Charlie Dirks, his lawyer, cites the fact that none of the sexual-harassment allegations appear in the Civil Service letters as highly suspicious.</p><p>The first of the four separate trials is not set until December, according to Alexander Kip Crighton, the parish attorney representing Boudreaux. The last of the four is scheduled for February. That means, barring some resolution, that Boudreaux will continue to draw his check but will be prevented from returning to work for at least another year.</p><p>Given the nature of the allegations in the suit, Claudet said there’s no other option.</p><p>I don’t think that I have much of an alternative, he said.</p><p>But the sexual-harassment suits are just one example of the department’s discord spilling into the public eye.</p><p>In late October, Jill Walker, who has worked as a clerk at the department for seven years, sued the parish and Duplantis, alleging she was illegally drug-tested by the interim chief.</p><p>And Monday, the Civil Service Board will consider complaints by Lt. Darryl Cunningham, who is contesting disciplinary action taken against him by Duplantis after Cunningham says he accidentally opened a letter that was put in his mailbox by mistake. The letter was addressed to Donna Wedgeworth, who is the Civil Service Board secretary, secretary to the chief of police and one of the women who is suing Boudreaux for sexual harassment.</p><p>Cunningham also contends that an election held to fill the Police Department’s seat on the board was not properly noticed, which would have been Wedgeworth’s responsibility. Duplantis counters that the election was properly noticed and conducted.</p><p>Carolyn McNabb, Cunningham’s attorney, said the investigations that resulted in Cunningham’s written reprimands, which could be used as grounds for demotion or dismissal, did not follow police procedure. </p><p>McNabb said Duplantis took Cunningham’s badge and gun and put him on paid leave.</p><p>The whole thing from beginning to end is way outside of accepted procedure, she said. Her opinion, she said, is that Darryl was being punished for being loyal to Pat and being Pat’s friend.</p><h3>THINGS WERE ORGANIZED’</h3>
<p>Citing the level of acrimony between certain officers and employees, as well as the complaints and lawsuits that have been filed before and since Boudreaux left office, District Attorney Joe Waitz said Friday the department is out of control.</p><p>After consulting with Claudet, Waitz sent a written request Friday to the State Police to investigate any and all allegations against the police chief and officers. A State Police spokesman said the request had been received and would be forwarded to Baton Rouge for review.</p><p>Waitz said he had sat by for months as evidence mounted that the situation at the Police Department was worsening. In August, he requested an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office, which declined, citing litigation filed by Boudreaux against the Civil Service Board, he said. </p><p>Though the State Police have yet to issue a response to the request, Waitz said he fears the department’s ability to function must be compromised by the internal strife.</p><p>Speaking on condition of anonymity because they fear reprisals, several officers told The Courier morale among the rank-and-file is abysmally low.</p><p>When Boudreaux was there, one officer said, It may not have been a perfect department, but things were organized.</p><h3>FAILURE TO ACT?</h3>
<p>Whether Pat’s innocent or guilty, the parish president hasn’t done his job, said 65-year-old Jack Smith, chief of the Houma Police from 1988 to 1998. It’s his problem. He’s the parish president. The chief of police works for him.</p><p>Most of the letters sent to the board, which were released to The Courier by Boudreaux following a public-records request, were also addressed to Claudet. </p><p>Boudreaux and his lawyer, Baton Rouge attorney Charlie Dirks, contend that Claudet told them he investigated the complaints and found them unfounded. After a month on leave, Claudet told Boudreaux in early July he could go back to work. </p><p>He told me I was exonerated, enjoy the weekend, come back to work Monday, Boudreaux said.</p><p>Waitz also said he heard Claudet make similar remarks. </p><p>There were some comments made to that effect, Waitz said.</p><p>The parish president, however, insists the letters were not sent to him. He also said he never performed an investigation of Boudreaux.</p><p>Never did I say that I had investigated those complaints and he was completely exonerated, Claudet said Friday.</p><p>Rather, he told Waitz, I had reviewed the complaints and found them to be fairly benign, Claudet said, adding that he opted to let the Civil Service Board handle the matter.</p><p>After the judge’s decision last week, Claudet said he had been meeting with attorneys for the parish and Civil Service Board and intended to request that the parish administration assume the responsibility for the investigation when he and Waitz agreed to contact the State Police.</p><p>Smith and former Parish President Don Schwab say Claudet should have handled the complaints from the outset.</p><p>It’s the responsibility of the parish president, Schwab said. That’s ridiculous for somebody not to have a police chief since May of 2008.</p><h3>BATTLE FOR POWER’</h3>
<p>Both Smith and Schwab said the unresolved situation has damaged the department.</p><p>It look likes it’s a battle for power, and that’s not good for the whole organization, Schwab said.</p><p>Internal friction and jockeying for position are part of any office, and police departments, with a comparative handful of ranking positions and officers vying for promotions, are no exception.</p><p>That’s especially true for the chief-of-police job after a transition of power in the parish administration, Smith said.</p><p>It’s a normal occurrence, after a new parish president takes over, that people are politicking for the job, Smith said, noting that Claudet took office about five months before the letters about Boudreaux were sent to the Civil Service Board. </p><p>Right now there is a lot of confusion in that department as to who the chief of police is, Smith said.</p><p>While Duplantis’ name may be on the glass outside, and he has moved into Boudreaux’s office, he can’t be the chief until Boudreaux is fired or quits. By law, Pat Boudreaux is the chief of police, Smith said.</p><p>Smith said he takes no sides. </p><p>I know Todd Duplantis; he’s a fine gentleman. I know Pat Boudreaux; he’s a fine gentleman, Smith said. Both people are deserving of the job.</p><p>As soon as Claudet became aware of the complaints against the chief, there should have been an investigation right then and there, Smith said, adding that the parish president could have halted the devolving situation a long time ago.</p><p>This is like a disease. It’s been festering in the police department for a long time, Smith said.</p><p>Whatever scope the State Police investigation takes, if it takes place, Smith was not optimistic it will uncover the truth behind the eight-month-long debacle.</p><p>The State Police are not going to want to be drug into a highly controversial deal, Smith said, adding that the investigating troopers will not know the personalities involved or where the skeletons are buried.</p><p>I don’t think that’s going to happen, he added.</p><p><em>Senior Staff Writer Robert Zullo can be reached at 850-1150 or robert.zullo@houmatoday.com.</em></p>